Monday with students

From breakfast at 7 a.m. until now at 9:30 p.m. we have been with the students.  It was a full day and I , for one, am really tired.  After breakfast at the hotel, we took taxis to the school's activity center where everything would center for the rest of the day.  Almost every morning we do language activities for three hours to help the students build vocabulary.  Chinese New Year is coming up in just a couple weeks so this week we are learning about various aspects of Chinese New Year and teaching the kids the English to go with the knowledge they already have from experience.  Today's topic was dragons.  They learned the English for the parts of a dragon (talons, spikes, scales, eyes, etc.) and drew pictures of dragons which they labeled.  They also learned about Cinquain poems (5 lines with each line have a certain number of syllables and a certain part of speech--one line is a noun, the next are adjectives, the next verbs, etc.).  Each student wrote a Cinquain poem on whatever topic they wanted and then illustrated the poem.  I got tapped to be a teacher for one of the groups of students; the rest of the family is helping in other groups.  

Then it was out to lunch.  Pingliang is famous for its noodles of all types.  My group had fried noodles (didn't look fried but I was told they were) with vegetables and meat.  It was delicious.  Hot tea is served at every meal except breakfast when they actually serve nothing to drink.  We bring our own juice or have to ask to hot tea.  After lunch my group went to buy face masks (like surgical masks that loop around the ears).  The people here all where them over their nose and mouth to keep their faces warm.  We thought they were because of pollution, but we were corrected on that account.  (In the evening I explained this to Barbra who immediately borrowed the one I bought to keep her face warm on the way home from dinner.  She said she plans to buy a bunch and start a new fashion statement in Alaska.  They come in all colors and designs.)  I also bought caligraphy paintbrushes.

When we returned from lunch the group started learning a play which they will perform at the end of the week.  It is a Chinese story but they have to learn it and the songs in English.  During a break from rehearsal, the students and Americans made tied blankets for the orphanage in town.  Barb and Sub have made these blankets so many times...including recently for our Operation Blessing before Christmas,  that their group tied 6 blankets!  While all this was going on, I went with Heather to the International Market to buy props for the play and ink to use with the calligraphy paintbrushes.

Dinner was out with the students and then back to the hotel to play American games.  Shaun and I played LIFE...which took a lot of time to explain to the kids and read all the spots, etc.  They seemed to enjoy it but it sure does require a lot of English skill.

So that was our day.  Another American is here to use our computer to check in with his children.  He is a widow and retired and excited to have been on this trip.

Hugs to DD, Mom.  Thanks for all you are doing.  We miss her and think of her whenever we are shopping or out and about.